The new history section 'Greatest Players'
focuses on some of Tottenham's Greatest Players.

This week, a true wizard on the ball and a legend
of the Lane, Glenn Hoddle.

Born in Hayes on October 27, 1957, Glenn Hoddle embodied
Spurs' time honored pretensions as to show how the game should be played. His
silky skills would win him only 53 England Caps and a passport to the champagne lifestyle
with Monaco in the close season of 1987!

The chance to progress in management would
bring him back to Britain two and a half years later as player boss of first
Swindon then Chelsea. He gave up the blues job to be the coach of the England
national team, but was sacked after some unworthy comments on disabled people
and then later became the new boss of Southampton, but it was at Tottenham that
the seeds of his reputation were sown.

Not that they were sown on fertile ground. By his
forth season, he had already suffered both the indignity of relegation and a
serious knee injury which might have ended the story in the first chapter. yet
he preserved, scoring better than one goal in five games - and many were
spectacular.

Hoddle though kept his feet firmly on the ground.
He didn't get carried away with his blossomed career with Tottenham Hotspur
which saw him win both the 1981 and 82 F.A Cup finals. he was a crucial member
of the team that won the UEFA Cup in 84'. However, despite the good times at
White Hart Lane Hoddle had spent there were also the bad times. Hoddle was also
a member of the relegated Tottenham team in 1977 and Hoddle had a knee injury
which threatened his career. He was a member of the 83' team that lost to
Liverpool in the League Cup final and played in the 87' FA Cup final which Spurs
had lost for the first me in their history.

Hoddle played a total of 470 matches for Spurs.
378 of them in the league, 48 in the FA Cup and 44 in the League Cup. He scored
a total of 109 goals for Spurs, 88 in the league, 11 in the FA Cup, and 10 in
the League Cup.

Most of us Spurs fans have our own personal
reasons for hating the mighty scum f North London, Arsenal, but Glenn Hoddle had
a terrible experience when he visited the Clock end of high bury.

" A group of ten of us went to a midweek
game, which we watched from the terraces at the clock end. All of a sudden there
was a lot of pushing and shoving. A group of Arsenal fans had sneaked up on us,
manhandled us, and just as quickly, they were gone.

' A couple of minutes later, one of my mates
sanding next to me, put his hand inside his shirt and found something wet. When
he pulled it out it was covered in blood. He had been stabbed...then another of
my mates examined his head and found a large . He had been hit over the head
with a hammer. We had had enough. With 20 minutes to go, we left. that episode
made me feel very sour towards the Arsenal supporters."